Tag Archives: Kevin Levin

Well the accusations abound that Across our Confederation is guilty of “Race-Baiting”. It reminds me of an article I read about liberals once upon a time. The just of it was that one can not win an argument against liberals because facts mean nothing. Facts mean nothing because liberalism is more than a political viewpoint, it is a religion to those who believe in it and the followers have enough faith in their “religion” to believe that if they keep repeating the lies, distorting the truth and manipulating the media enough, the world will see things how they want the world to see them.

That might work for THEM but that is not how I see the world. I see the world for how it REALLY is.

The criticism started rolling in as I published my series on the Trayvon Martin case Part I , Part II and Part III . Race-baiting was the accusation made by certain liberal South-hating blogs.

Monuments were being defaced prior to Trayvon’s death. That being said, the militants who dawn their hoodies on their head, (a spray can in one hand and a pack of “Skittles” in the other) as a sign of solidarity for their fallen martre, feel even more embolden and justified in doing so.

No thanks to anti-Southern bloggers such as Kevin Levin over at Civil War Memory who suggests that the monuments are a result of a “history of racial tension” .

Can I label men like Levin “Yankee -Baiters”?

This isn’t going away and there is no reason to hide your head in the sand and pretend it is. Call me what you want, the fact is, I really don’t care what you call me but one thing is for sure, you won’t find me wringing my hands at the matter, questioning the “history of racial injustice” as thugs continue to vandalise monuments to the Confederate veterans, distribute rap songs that call for physical harm of white children, or insinuate that if we all don’t beg for forgiveness from Trayvon that white people are going to die.-webmaster.

Kevin Levin a "historian" who is embraced by the mainstream for his denigration of Black Confederates.

Historian Kevin Levin has made into the very distinguished ‘The Atlantic’ magazine. The subject? Black Confederates of course. Or should I say the denigration of African-Americans contributions to the Confederacy?

The mere title is condescending. Levin writes: “More representative of the experience of “Confederate slaves” were those impressed by individual states and the Confederate government for various war-related projects such as the building of fortifications and roads. In fact, as the number of body servants dropped, the number of impressed slaves continued to rise as a result of legislation on the state and federal levels. Yet, the SCV/UDC have little to say about these men.Of course, it is not difficult to surmise as to why. The first problem is that most people are not even aware that tens of thousands of slaves were impressed during the war. It’s a measure of where we are in terms of our popular understanding of how African-Americans experienced the war. What is important to keep in mind, however, is that there is no difference between the legal statusof body servants and those who were impressed. They were all legally owned.”

The real reason “Lincolnites” like Levin must belittle the contribution of African-Americans in the Confederacy is because in order to maintain the “myth” of Honest Abe the Emancipator the war has to be about slavery. African-American Confederate Veterans can not be given the respect they deserve because if they are, people will question the real reasons for the war. Taxation, states rights, constitutionalists versus those who favored giving more power to a central government these were the reasons for the war then and they are reasons for the ongoing political fight in this country now.

Yes, African-Americans were impressed for service into the Confederacy just as they were “liberated” and given the opportunity to “fight for their freedom” by the Federal Government of the North. Just as both White and Black men were “drafted” into the service up to and through the Vietnam Conflict. Does this mean that any soldier impressed into service should not be honored for their service? Of course not.

Lincolnites like Kevin Levin deliberately , conveniently do not mention men like John Noland, Henry Wilson and John Lobb. All three of these men were from Missouri, fought with William Quantrill and were black.

In the book “Quantrill at Lawrence” author Paul R. Petersen gives a detailed account of the contribution of these Black Confederates.

Of Noland, Petersen writes that John T. Noland was entrusted by Quantrill to scout the town of Lawrence , Kansas before his August, 1863 raid on the town and that “John T. Noland was born in 1844. He was one of several black men who served under Quantrill . Noland showed himself a brave soldier by his conspicuous actions during the first battle of Independence and the battle of Lamar. At Noland’s funeral all of his pallbearers were white. He was described as “a man among men”. His gravestone in Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence {Missouri} denotes his service with Quantrill as a scout”

Noland later recounted that: ” I being a colored man I had the advantage of any white man as a spy… t was then the Col. {Quantrill} sent for me to meet him on the Little Blue River, and it was there that I received my final instruction, which was to find out the number of soldiers quartered in Lawrence, and if there were any in the vicinity”

Petersen’s book also gives great information for anyone wishing to set the record straight as to the practice of being “impressed” into service writing of Henry Wilson , Petersen notes that: “Wilson was kidnapped by Jayhawkers early in the war and was on his way to Kansas when he escaped. Wilson who lived near Independence chose to remain in Quantrill”s band rather than accept his freedom. He told those around him, ‘ I observed with my own eyes , the stealing, plundering and burning of homes of the people of this country by bands of ‘Red Legs’ even to the enticing of slaves into Kansas. I joined Quantrill when Master Wilson moved to Texas to run the blockade at Independence, carrying supplies to Quantrill and his men”.

Of Lobb, Petersen writes that: “John Lobb was also sent into Lawrence, but William Gregg remembered, “Lobb did not get back before we had started. He met us on the way and told us that Lane had left town”.

There you have it. Three men. Three Black men who fought for the Confederacy under Quantrill. All three entrusted to scout the town of Lawrence, Kansas prior to the great raid at great personal risk to themselves. All three men, who voluntarily fought for the Missouri guerrilla fighter.

It is quite the story. A story that Lincolnites like Kevin Levin do not want others to hear because it raises questions as to the real reasons of the war and exposes the myth of Lincoln being the “Great Emancipator”.

Kevin Levin is at it again… this time he has turned his wrath toward the Kennedy Brothers (authors of the best selling book “The South was Right!” Their crime? Apparently being interviewed by Al Jazeera.

Levin writes:

“his is an interesting little report on the commemorative events surrounding the sesquicentennial of Fort Sumter. A number of people are interviewed, but what I find so interesting is the difference in tone between NPS interpreter, Michael Allen and the Kennedy brothers (aka the Civil War’s Statler and Waldorf), who identify themselves as “Southern Historians.” I just love that reference. It has nothing to do with regional identification because if it did they would have to include hundreds of historians who were all born and raised in the South. I live in the South. Am I a Southern Historian in their eyes? You get my point. No, that identification marks a certain way of looking at the history of the South and its tone is overly defensive and presentist – a perspective that I suspect does not reflect the views of most white and black southerners. The language used reflects very little interest in the nineteenth century itself. Just listen to these two describe the federal government as tariff and money obsessed and intent on going around the world to oppress innocent people at the point of a bloody bayonet.

You certainly leave with a sense of their emotional connection to the issue, but it’s not much of an explanation.

The bigger problem here is that the media’s insistence on interviewing people like the Kennedy brothers reinforces the assumption that this is the Southern view of the war. They may be entertaining and they may refer to themselves as Southern historians, but they do not speak for the South.”

The Kennedy brothers don’t speak for the South, but Leven thinks HE does? Hardly.

In it Levin calls the mention of Black Confederates in the textbooks, “mindboggling” and “disappointing.”

I think there is the distinct possibility that what Levin finds truly mindboggling and dissappointing is that while he is garnering attention in a small northeastern U.S. newspaper for trying to discredit the textbook company and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Kennedy Brothers are garnering world-wide attention by speaking about the real reasons for the War of Northern Aggression and how they can be compared and applied to current events.-Webmaster

Kevin Levin over at CW Memory blog recently posted an article entitled : “Let the Documents Speak for Themselves” it is really nothing more than a shout out to a recent Daily Show episode ( a fake news show with fake news anchors) that featured “correspondent” Larry Wilmer discussing South Carolina’s upcoming Secession Ball , an event that is kicking of one of many Civil War Sequicentinniel celebrations throughout the country.

In it Wilmer mocks the Sons of Confederate Veterans commercials , which have been banned censored by the History Channel. One of the commercials details the fact that many historians only cite the “Politically Correct” reasons for the war such as slavery, to which Wilmer cites South Carolina’s Secession Documents which mention slavery stating that they are not “Politically Correct they are Correct Correct”

Levin makes the case to let the documents speak for themselves, yet they don’t want you to see ALL of the documents , especially letters from Confederate soldiers detailing just why the fought to begin with.

Across our Confederation recently shared a letter that was published in Virginia’s “The Daily Progressive” newspaper which states:

“I am 82 years of age. My grandfather served the Confederacy under North Carolina Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew. He died at the Battle of Gettysburg. I will allow his thoughts, written to my grandmother just a couple of weeks prior to that battle, to speak for themselves.”

My lovely wife. I do so miss you, and the life we have there on the small plot of land God has given us. More and more, it seems that my thoughts are drifting back there to reside with you. Yet, as badly as I desire to be back home, it is for home for which I deem it best for my presence here with these other men. The proclamation by the Lincoln administration six months prior may appear noble. Were I here in these conditions, simply to keep another man in bondage, I would most certainly walk away into the night and return unto you. God knows my heart, and the hearts of others here amongst me. We know what is at stake here, and the true reason for this contest that requires the spilling of the blood of fellow citizens. Our collective fear is nearly universal. This war, if it is lost, will see ripples carry forward for five, six, seven or more generations. I scruple not to believe, as do the others, that the very nature of this country will be forever disspirited. That one day, our great great grandchildren will be bridled with a federal bit, that will deem how and if they may apply the gospel of Christ to themselves, their families and their communities. Whether or not the land of their forefathers may be deceitfully taken from them through taxation and coercion. A day where only the interests of the northern wealthy will be shouldered by the broken and destitute bodies of the southern poor. This my darling wife, is what keeps me here in this arena of destruction and death.”

“Believing as we did that the war was a war of subjugation, and that it meant, if successful, the destruction of our liberties, the issue in our minds was clearly drawn as I have stated it,–The Union without Liberty, or Liberty without the Union”

Randolph Harrison McKim, 1st Lieutenant, Army of Northern Virginia, CSAA Soldier’s Recollections: Leaves From The Diary of a Young Confederate,with an Oration on the Motives and Aims of the Soldiers of the South.Call number 973.78 M15s 1910 (Davis Library, UNC-CH

“I was never a Secessionist, for I quietly adopted father’s views on political subjects without meddling with them. But even father went over with his State, and when so many outrages were committed by the fanatical leaders of the North, though he regretted the Union, said, “Fight to the death for our liberty.” I say so, too. I want to fight until we win the cause so many have died for. I don’t believe in Secession, but I do in Liberty. I want the South to conquer, dictate its own terms, and go back to the Union, for I believe that, apart, inevitable ruin awaits both. It is a rope of sand, this Confederacy, founded on the doctrine of Secession, and will not last many years – not five. The North Cannot subdue us. We are too determined to be free. They have no right to confiscate our property to pay debts they themselves have incurred. Death as a nation, rather than Union on such terms. We will have our rights secured on so firm a basis that it can never be shaken. If by power of overwhelming numbers they conquer us, it will be a barren victory over a desolate land. “

“…They tried to make my uncle Harrison into an informer, but he would’nt do it. He was only a boy,…They tried to hang him, time and again they tried it, ‘stretching his neck’, they called it, but he didn’t say anything. I think he’d have died before he’d said anything. He’s the one I’m named after, and I’m happy to say that there were people…around at the time who said I took after him.”

–President Harry S. Truman, speaking about what the Yankee “Redlegs” did to his uncle, at age thirteen during the ‘War Between the States’

Ah but more than one President has weighed in on this subject, in addition to Harry Truman, Thomas Jefferson had foreseen the oncoming struggle between North and South 61 YEARS before the War of Northern aggression and there is not one mention of slavery being the reason! From Jefferson, written in 1800:

[Monticello] 13 August 1800

Dear Sir, – I received with great pleasure your favor of June 4, and am much comforted by the appearance of a change of opinion in your State; for tho’ we may obtain, & I believe shall obtain, a majority in the legislature of the United States, attached to the preservation of the federal Constitution according to its obvious principles, & those on which it was known to be received; attached equally to the preservation to the States of those rights unquestionably remaining with them; friends to the freedom of religion, freedom of the press, trial by jury & to economical government; opposed to standing armies, paper systems, war, & all connection, other than commerce, with any foreign nation; in short, a majority firm in all those principles which we have espoused and the federalists have opposed uniformly; still, should the whole body of New England continue in opposition to these principles of government, either knowingly or through delusion, our government will be a very uneasy one. It can never be harmonious & solid, while so respectable a portion of its citizens support principles which go directly to a change of the federal Constitution, to sink State governments, consolidate them into one, and to monarchize that. Our country is too large to have all its affairs directed by a single government. Public servants at such a distance, & from under the eye of their constituents , must, from circumstance of distance, be unable to administer & overlook all details necessary for the good government of the citizens, and the same circumstance, by rendering detection impossible to their constituents, will invite the public agents to corruption, plunder & waste. And I do verily believe, that if the principle where to prevail, of a common law being in force in the U.S., (which principle possesses the general government at once of all the powers of the State governments, and reduces us to a single consolidated government,) it would become the most corrupt government on the earth. You have seen the practises by which the public servants have been able to cover their conduct, or, where that could not be done, delusions by which they have varnished it for the eye of their constituents. What an augmentation of the field for jobbing, speculating, plundering, office-building & office-hunting would be produced by an assumption of all the States powers into the hands of the general government. The true theory of our Constitution is surely the wisest & best, that the States are independent as to everything within themselves, & united as to everything respecting foreign nations.

The hypocrisy of men like Levin knows no bounds. In another post he criticizes two authors of twisting the words of another author, yet men like Levin have no problem twisting the words and the meaning of South Carolina’s secession documents or ignoring the words of the soldiers and citizens themselves.

Jefferson detailed the reasons for the war, the North was not content to let the South live free and govern themselves, just as Levin {a New Jersey born Yankee} isn’t content to let the South celebrate their history they way they prefer.

Levin states: “Here is what I would do to protest this event. Station both black and white residents of Charleston in different sections of the city and at a scheduled time, during the Secession Ball, have them read the actual document that was approved by South Carolina’s secession convention. You could organize literally hundreds of people for this. I think it would be quite powerful to see South Carolinians take ownership of what South Carolinians in 1860”

﻿In Mr. Levin’s eyes you have to seek his approval before you can celebrate your heritage, and it will only be granted upon promise that you will feel guilty and apologize for your ancestors. The real problem Mr.Levin has is that the Secession Ball is a private function, just out of reach of the controlled environment of national parks, schools and carefully picked Sequicentinial Committees in which the deck has been stacked.

﻿Go ahead Mr. Levin, round your folks up and try and disrupt the celebration as you may, but it will not be effective, besides; what’s to stop a group of like minded folks from bussing women’s rights groups into your town protesting the fact that a a local school teacher likes to harass women.?- Webmaster

Along with her personal information (which includes her employer and the position she holds in the company) Levin posted her photograph {in an act of intimidation?}

Mrs. Hathaway’s crime? She dared to criticize Mr. Levin. As justification for his actions Mr. Levin is using a statement that Mrs. Hathaway once made , out of context and is now calling it a threat. The alleged statement made by Mrs. Hathaway was:﻿

“﻿This is all you need to know about Kevin Levin. He calls this insepid [sic] video a “wonderful teaching tool” and plans on using it to lead conferences on “Teaching American History” (training the teachers who will educate YOUR children) with grant money. WARNING: Highly Offensive material that may cause your head to explode/…

As for the urge to get him alone in a room…I was raised by gentle parents to be a Gentlewoman, but this fool may be the straw to break this camel’s back!”

Clearly Mrs. Hathaway was expressing her frustration with an idiot in a joking manner…and true to all the stereo-types, said idiot is now claiming that he has been threatened {by a woman}, which makes him the stereo-typical Yankee coward (and you wonder why Southerners were able to fight Yankees when they were outnumbered 3-1?). If you read Mr. Levin’s bio on his website you will see that he was born and raised in New Jawwwzzy and educated in Southern institutions. Now Mr. Levin is attempting to use his education to tell Southerners how THEY should honor their ancestors. Come on Mr. Levin, in order to take your accusations seriously, Mrs. Hathaway’s head would have had to explode and clearly that’s not happened yet.

Mr. Levin tries to make Southerners believe that the invading Yankee hoards of the War of Southern Independence, really weren’t bad people, and really didn’t commit atrocities and yet, here is Mr. Levin, a Yankee, trying to intimidate a Southern woman, by posting her personal information and trying to jeopardize her employment.

Almost 150 years after the war ended , and the Yankees are still trying to steal the bread out of the mouths of Southern children.

As the title states, Mr. Levin is at it again. This time in an article posted on November 28, 2010 entitled, “What does your Civil War soldier have to say?” In it Mr. Levin discusses how Civil War statues are “interpreted” stating: “our understanding of the meaning of these sites is always changing.” The statue in question is located in Charlottesville , Virginia and is pictured below:

Of course Mr. Levin couldn’t resist posting an editorial he read in the paper as a reason to discuss it. The editorial which was posted in Virginia’s “The Daily Progress” newspaper on November 27, 2010 and entitled “An Apology from a Confederate Soldier” states:

“My name is Johnny Reb, the young soldier you see downtown every day at the courthouse. I killed and died for the Confederate States of America. I now see the great pain and suffering I brought to my family and my country in this misguided war. I am sorry too for attempting to perpetuate the slavery of Africans, brought here in cruel servitude, an enduring stain on America’s heritage of liberty.

“If I could rise from my grave, I would walk to President Lincoln’s memorial in Washington and ask his forgiveness. And I would ask to shake the hand of PresidentObama and thank him for his service in healing the great country America has become despite my mistake.”

You’ve got to be kidding me! Asking Lincoln for HIS forgiveness? Thanking President Obama for “healing” this nation? Unbelievable. Lincoln tore this country apart limb from limb, and Obama is working on it as I write this.

Perhaps Levin’s motive for posting this editorial is because it truly reflects how HE believes.

I distinctly get the impression that Levin’s liberal theory that the statue’s meaning has somehow changed over the years is based on a broader theory that liberals adhere to when approaching the Constitution.

Levin believes that statues are “living” “breathing” markers whose meaning and purpose is open to interpretation and change. Well Mr. Levin, it isn’t, and neither is the Constitution!

As for the editorial, there is no need to ponder what the soldier would say if he could talk. General Lee in a letter to ex -Texas Governor Stockdale once wrote:

“”Governor, if I had foreseen the use these people desired to make of their victory, there would have been no surrender at Appomattox, no, sir, not by me. Had I seen these results of subjugation, I would have preferred to die at Appomattox with my brave men, my sword in this right hand.”

If the Confederate soldier memorialized on the statue in question, could talk and was able to meet Abraham Lincoln, he would not ask for his forgiveness, he would say, “May God have mercy on your soul”.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, it is a time for reflecting on what we are thankful for. For me it is special because after having the worst year of my life, I have survived against all odds. I am thankful for my family and my friends and my “Southern Family” within the ranks of the SCV who checked in on me from time to time and offered hope and words of encouragement. I am also thankful that I can still honor my Confederate ancestors and thankful that I live in a country where I am free to do so. America ain’t what she used to be, but she’s still the best place to be.

Unfortunately, this Thanksgiving, is a reminder of what we face in the coming year. 2011 is going to be the kick off of the Civil War Sesquicentennial. There have been many state commissions and organizations created to honor this historic event. Unfortunately they have been stacked with men like Kevin Levin, who has taken many an opportunity to discredit, insult, mock and insult the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the cause for which our ancestors fought.

A friend recently informed me that Levin : “this man has influence on the VA Civil War Sesquicentennial, The Virginia Historical Society, and receives grant money to educate our teachers on how to teach about the Civil War ( and that’s just naming a few of his influences). If we don’t get the word out, how will we be able to stop him?

I would like to see his face the next time we show up at a roundtable (like the Old Brunswick SCV did recently) if these types of posts are brought up. I also want to encourage our members (especially those in VA) to write all of these groups and let them know how we feel about a man who holds this much animosity towards the SCV having so much sway…”

Levin is also the author of the Civil War Memory Blog and his latest efforts were dedicated to mocking the SCV for educating the public on the true history of Thanksgiving as well as insulting the SCV for donating $35,000 for medical research. Normally I don’t link to men like Levin, but in this case maybe you should see his hatred and animosity for yourselves by clicking on the following links:

I also wonder why Mr. Levin, who is unquestionably biased toward preserving and promoting agenda of Abraham Lincoln, as well as the myth which surrounds this U.S. president, why is HE qualified to advise teachers on Civil War heritage, but texbooks that used Sons of Confederate Veterans research about black Confederate Veterans censored?

Maybe the answer lies in the fact that in order to “preserve” Lincoln’s “legacy” men like Levin and Virginia Governor McConnell resort to racism to preserve the memory of “the great emancipator”?